Riverside Arena

Austin, MN · Public skating times & prices

Austin's 1973 arena, seating about 2,300, home of the Packers and the NAHL's Austin Bruins

Public skating at Riverside Arena: the next 7 days

Loading public skate, freestyle, and stick & puck times for Riverside Arena…

Admission and skate rental

Admission
$5–$6 · Official source
Skate rental
$2 · Official source
Address
501 2nd Ave NE, Austin, MN 55912
Phone
(507) 433-1881
Website
ci.austin.mn.us
The Riverside Arena entrance with its red-trimmed sign, glass doors and the white arena hall behind. — Riverside Arena
The Riverside Arena entrance with its red-trimmed sign, glass doors and the white arena hall behind. Photo: Kyvuh · Source · CC0
The empty sheet seen from the upper seats, with rows of red bleachers, the glass and a scoreboard under the wooden roof trusses. — Riverside Arena
The empty sheet seen from the upper seats, with rows of red bleachers, the glass and a scoreboard under the wooden roof trusses. Photo: Kyvuh · Source · CC0

Austin's hockey arena since 1973

Riverside Arena opened in 1973, and some of southern Minnesota's best hockey players have skated on its ice since, among them Bob Motzko, who went on to coach St. Cloud State. The City of Austin keeps the rink available year-round, with seating for about 2,300.

The Austin Packers call Riverside home, and so do the Austin Bruins of the North American Hockey League, who arrived as an expansion team in the 2010–11 season. Youth hockey has grown in the building too: Austin's 8-and-under players rose from 52 to 72 in the seasons before 2017, the year Austin was named one of 10 finalists in the Kraft Hockeyville competition.

Every season the Bruins play Paint the Rink Pink, an annual game raising money for cancer research at the Hormel Institute; afterwards the players perform skits for the fans before the game jerseys are auctioned. The 17th edition is set for February 6, 2027. In April 2026 the Austin City Council voted unanimously to extend the Bruins' lease on Riverside Arena for five years, a decision that paves the way for improvements.

Before you head out.

Admission, rentals and arrival details, researched from official rink information. Source checks stay current for 30 days.

Admission

Public skate price: $5 to skate. Open hockey costs $6 per person at the window; goalies skate free with proper gear.

Source checked · · Official source

Skates & rentals

Skate rental at public skate is $2.

Source checked · · Official source

Booking & check-in

Open hockey is $6 per person, paid at the window; everyone must sign in.

Source checked · · Official source

Rink rules

Helmets must be worn at open hockey; no checking.

Source checked · · Official source

A source check records what the rink published on that date. Session-specific booking details take precedence.